BCCI monitoring IPL workload of India hopefuls
new delhi — The Board of Control for Cricket in India has zeroed in on 23 national team hopefuls, whose workload will be strictly monitored during the ongoing Indian Premier League.
These 23 players are the ones who are not in the BCCI’s Central Contract list which has elite internationals such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.
From Under-19 talents such as Prithvi Shaw and Shivam Mavi to last domestic season’s top run-getter Mayank Agarwal, the list includes all those whom the selection committee found worthy of national or A team call-up in near future.
“The basic plan was to divide the players into three groups. The first group comprises current U19s. The second group is of old U-19s, where we have players who played U-19 India in last 3 to 4 years. And the third group is of current India A Players,” a senior BCCI office bearer told on conditions of anonymity.
The BCCI wants to keep a strict vigil on these players primarily because in a tight schedule like IPL with so much travelling and lack of time between matches, the workload becomes paramount.
“Let me give you an example. Young fast bowlers like Shivam Mavi or a Navdeep Saini may be asked by their franchise coaches to bowl 60 to 100 deliveries during a training session to Chris Lynn or AB de Villiers since they may not be certainties in playing XI. Here the BCCI steps in. These youngsters are our assets. A Bhuvneshwar Kumar knows his body and workload but when it comes to Mavi, Navdeep or Avesh (Khan), it’s our duty to protect them for greater interest of Indian cricket,” the office bearer said.